It's Official: U.S. Soccer Submits Final World Cup Roster to FIFA

NewsMay 21, 2002

IT'S OFFICIAL: The United States submitted its official roster for the 2002 FIFA World Cup to the FIFA General Secretariat in Switzerland this afternoon. By tournament rules, the final 23-man roster is due to FIFA offices by midnight tonight. With the exception of Steve Cherundolo, the roster matches the team announced by U.S. head coach Bruce Arena on ESPN's SportCenter on April 22. Arena's selections are highlighted by the inclusion of seven players who will be representing the U.S. in their third overall World Cup, including U.S. captain Claudio Reyna (Sunderland – England), all-time U.S. World Cup qualifying goal scoring leader Earnie Stewart (NAC Breda – Holland), all-time U.S. appearance leader Cobi Jones (L.A. Galaxy) and second all-time leading scorer Joe-Max Moore (Everton – England). Of the team’s 23 players, 12 currently play professionally in Europe and 11 play in Major League Soccer. Altogether, 16 players on the U.S. World Cup roster have played professionally in MLS. The full roster follows:

SOUTH KOREA EARNS 1-1 DRAW WITH ENGLAND: Despite going down 1-0 on a goal by Michael Owen in the 25th minute, South Korea battled to a well-earned 1-1 draw with England last night in Seogwipo. Park Yi-Jung equalized for the Koreans in the 52nd minute, with the host nation continuing to apply pressure on the English throughout the second half. "Korea were a very aggressive team, very good on the ball and I think they could cause a small surprise in the tournament. They play good football," said England coach Sven Goran Eriksson. The United States faces Korea in the second match of Groud D on June 10 in Daegu.

MATHIS IN T.V. GUIDE: U.S. forward Clint Mathis will be featured in the next issue of T.V. Guide, due to hit newsstands this coming Monday. The upcoming issue, featuring Ashley Judd on the cover, reveals Mathis' roots in soccer and his upcoming goals for the World Cup. T.V. Guide is the nation's top weekly magazine circulation-wise.

U.S. DEPARTS FOR KOREA ON THURSDAY: When the U.S. boards a plane to Korea on Thursday (May 23) from New York City to compete in the 2002 World Cup, it will have been 173 days since the Final World Cup Draw in Busan, Korea. It was back on Dec. 1, 2001 that the U.S. was paired against Portugal, Poland and the host Koreans at the draw. When the team arrives on Friday (May 24), Arena’s squad will be just 12 days away from their opening match June 5 in Suwon against Portugal (live on ESPN2 at 5 a.m. ET). The U.S. then faces South Korea on June 10 in Daegu (live on ESPN2 at 2:30 a.m. ET) and wraps up group play on June 14 against Poland in Daejeon (live on ESPN at 7:30 a.m. ET).